[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7748 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7748
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish
a pilot program promoting scratch cooking in school meal programs.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 20, 2024
Mrs. Hayes (for herself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, and Ms. Brownley) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education
and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish
a pilot program promoting scratch cooking in school meal programs.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Scratch Cooked Meals for Students
Act''.
SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM FOR GRANTS PROMOTING SCRATCH COOKING IN SCHOOL
MEAL PROGRAMS.
Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42
U.S.C. 1769) is amended by inserting before subsection (b) the
following new subsection:
``(a) Scratch Cooking Pilot Program.--
``(1) In general.--
``(A) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of the enactment of this subsection, the
Secretary shall establish a pilot program to award
competitive grants to school food authorities to
promote scratch cooking.
``(B) Scratch cooking defined.--In this subsection,
the term `scratch cooking' means the preparation of
food using ingredients that are unprocessed or
minimally processed.
``(2) Grant amounts and duration.--A grant awarded under
this subsection shall be made for a period of 2 school years.
``(3) Eligible uses.--A grant awarded under this subsection
shall be used by a school food authority to promote scratch
cooking, which may include--
``(A) promoting professional development and
training related to preparing, procuring, advertising,
serving, and creating menus of meals made with scratch
cooking;
``(B) purchasing cafeteria equipment or making
infrastructure modifications necessary for scratch
cooking;
``(C) employee compensation for additional food
preparation necessary for scratch cooking;
``(D) providing technical assistance, pupil
engagement, and education related to scratch cooking,
such as taste tests, recipe development, and culinary
education;
``(E) investing in software and technology systems
for procurement to support scratch cooking; and
``(F) carrying out any additional activities to
promote scratch cooking that will help school food
authorities meet or exceed the nutrition standards for
the school lunch program authorized under this Act and
the school breakfast program established by section 4
of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773).
``(4) Priority.--In evaluating grant applications under
this subsection, the Secretary shall give the highest priority
to school food authorities that--
``(A) serve the greatest proportion of students
eligible for free or reduced price lunch under this
Act;
``(B) are--
``(i) self-operated; or
``(ii) provide an assurance to the
Secretary that the school food authority will
be self-operated on or before the date that is
1 year before the last day of the grant period;
and
``(C) either--
``(i) have employees who are represented by
a collective bargaining agreement or memorandum
of understanding, if such employees are
permitted by law to be so represented; or
``(ii) provide an assurance to the
Secretary that the school food authority will,
with respect to the employees of such school
food authority, negotiate a collective
bargaining agreement or memorandum of
understanding on or before the date that is 1
year before the last day of the grant period.
``(5) Technical assistance.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall enter into
an agreement with one or more nonprofit organizations
to establish and carry out a technical assistance and
resource center to provide technical assistance with
respect to carrying out subparagraphs (A) through (C)
of paragraph (3).
``(B) Collaboration requirement.--As soon as
practicable after receiving a grant under this
subsection, a school food authority shall collaborate
with the technical assistance and resource center
established under subparagraph (A) to--
``(i) conduct a needs assessment to
evaluate equipment needs, equipment
utilization, procurement processes, and
workforce capabilities of the school food
authority; and
``(ii) based on such needs assessment,
establish a strategic plan to carry out the
grant under this subsection.
``(6) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the conclusion
of the grant period described in paragraph (2), each school
food authority that receives a grant under this subsection
shall submit to the Secretary a report that includes, with
respect to such school food authority, the change at the end of
the grant period, as compared with the school year immediately
preceding the beginning of the grant period, in--
``(A) the percentage of whole ingredients, raw
ingredients, or both, as a share of total expenditures
used in school meals; and
``(B) the percentage of menu items prepared with
scratch cooking.
``(7) Authorization of appropriations.--
``(A) In general.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this subsection $20,000,000
for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.
``(B) Reservations.--Of the amounts made available
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall reserve--
``(i) not more than 15 percent for purposes
of carrying out paragraph (5), including
administrative expenses; and
``(ii) not more than 5 percent for other
administrative expenses of the Secretary.''.
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